When looking for the latest information on farm rent prices is your greatest resource the local coffee shop? Has it left you with only more questions on how to reach a fair rent price? If you are looking for non-biased information about farm leasing and farm management then join us for the Farmland Leasing Program offered by the University of Illinois Extension at the Stephenson County Farm Bureau on September 11^th from 9:00 am -11:00 am.

Jim Endress, Extension Educator, Farm Business Management, Rockford Center will be the guest speaker. He will be covering the leasing outlook for 2009 with relation to commodity prices and increased risk, lease length and timing of cash lease payments, formula cash farm leases, and question and answers.

Program registration is $20 and includes speaker handouts, a copy of the University of Illinois cash lease, and refreshments. To register contact the Stephenson County Extension office at 815-235-4125 or register online at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/stephenson/agnr.html

Lease forms are available at any County Extension Office free of charge or can be downloaded at http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu/ under in the spotlight.

University of Illinois Extension Jo-Carroll Unit will offer Tree Identification & Planting. Trees can offer a beautiful and long lasting addition to any landscape. Choosing the right tree for your yard and properly planting is the key to ensuring your new tree will be around for years to come. Come join Kari Houle, University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator, as she guides you through the basics of identifying 8 trees that do well in Illinois landscapes, and the basics of proper planting for new trees.

The program will be held at the Mt. Carroll Extension Office Tuesday, September 16^th, 2008 at 1:00 pm. or Thursday, September 18^th, 2008 at 7:00 pm or in the Elizabeth Extension Office Tuesday, September 16^th, 2008 at 1:00 pm. This "telenet" program will feature color power point slides accompanied by the live voice of the instructor as people from all over the state participate at once. You will have the chance to ask questions at the end of the program. Other topics in the fall series include Going Green with Evergreens, set for September 30 and October 2, and Backyard Composting on October 14 and 16.

Two opportunities are being offered to recycle your outdated, working or nonworking, electronics and other household appliances. The first collection will be in Mt. Carroll at the University of Illinois Extension parking lot Friday, September 26, Noon to 3:00 p.m. and the second collection is scheduled for Saturday, September 27, in Freeport at the Southwest Plaza Shopping Center, 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. That is the site of the former Eagle Grocery store and located just southeast of the intersection of South Street and Rt. 26. These collection events are open to both residents and businesses in Stephenson, Jo Daviess, and Carroll counties. Many items may be dropped off for free, such as: hard drives, keyboards, printers, scanners, etc. while larger appliances have a $5-10 fee. Call Maggie Freidenbach at the Mt. Carroll Extension Office with any questions.

All horse enthusiasts are invited to attend an upcoming horse pasture walk program set for Saturday, September 20 at the Aby Breed Horse Farm, Stockton, Illinois. The program will run from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and feature topics on pasture management for horses, keeping your horses healthy, and horse nutrition. For pre-registration and more information contact the Jo Daviess Extension office at 815-858-2273.

Pasture Improvement and Manure Management

Field Day

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Jim Endress Farm, 3220 S. Koch Rd., Pearl City, IL

5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Agenda:

4:30 p.m. Registration and Refreshments

5:00 p.m. Welcome and Introductions

5:05 p.m. Manure Settling Basin and Vegetative Filter Strip Options

See on-site system

How EQIP can help with manure handling strategies

5:40 p.m. Pasture Renovation Options and Demonstration

See results of frost seeding and no-till seeding of red clover into grass pasture

Cost share programs available for pasture improvement

6:20 p.m. Light Dinner (Hot Sandwich, Chips, Beverage)

6:50 p.m. Pasture Brush Control Options and Demonstration

See how herbicides (Spike, Dicamba, Tordon, Garlon, and Roundup) applied at different

times (dormant, cut-stump, and foliar) plus mechanical methods (mowing and pulling)

control multiflora rose and Japanese barberry.

7:50 p.m. Adjourn

8:00 p.m. Refreshments and Adjourn

Winter Feeding Options Tour

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

12:30-4:00 P.M.

Alan Dykstra Farm, 13131 Hillside Rd., Morrison, IL

Directions

From the Northwest:

Off of U.S. route 30, 3 miles west of Morrison, or about 6 miles East of Fulton, take Hillside Road (blacktop) 41/2 miles south. Al Dykstra's is the last farm on the right (west).

From the Northeast:

Off of U.S. route 30 and Illinois route 78 (by the USDA office, west edge of Morrison), Go west on Garden Plain Road for about 3 miles, make a left on Hillside road and go south 3 miles.

From the South:

Off of Illinois route 78, about 2 miles south of Morrison, go west on Bunker Hill road 31/2 miles. Bunker Hill Road will make a 90 degree turn to the north and turn into Hillside Road. Al's farm is just around this corner on the left (west) side of the road.

Agenda: 12:30-12:45

Introduction (Mark Maidak, U of I Extension)

Overview of Operation (Alan Dykstra, Host Producer)

12:45-2:45

Winter Feeding Within a Prescribed Grazing System:

Planning Considerations (Steve Hollister, NRCS)

Structural Options (Brett Gee, NCRS)

Forage/Grazing Options (Jim Morrison, U of I Extension)

Funding Opportunities (Mark Kaiser, NRCS)

2:45-4:00

Tour a Winter Feeding Station

Event Resource Presenters

Brett Gee, Agricultural Engineer, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Princeton Office

Jim Morrison, Crops Educator, University of Illinois Extension, Rockford Center

Steve Hollister, Resource Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Morrison Office

Mark Kaiser, District Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Morrison Office